Practical Aspects of Small Molecule Drug Discovery: At the interface of biology, chemistry and pharmacology
17-22 June 2012
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge
Deadline for applications: 5 March 2012
Programme
A growing number of investigators in leading research institutions and small and medium-sized companies are expanding from their strength in disease biology into early-stage drug discovery. However, this move requires successfully combining the disciplines of biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacology, the breadth of which can present organisational, knowledge and competence challenges for institutions and investigators. This residential course aims to give researchers of any discipline a broad introduction into the theoretical, practical and organisational aspects of small molecule drug discovery. Each topic will include a lecture together with discussion sessions or case histories to develop key aspects highlighted in the lectures. In addition there will be practical sessions to illustrate the beginnings of drug discovery programmes, including the production of target product profiles, project plans and milestones, compound progression criteria and scientific strategy.
Topics will include:
- Project management and organisation of multi-disciplinary projects
- Target discovery and validation
- Hit discovery options
- Screening set selection, storage and quality control
- Screening cascades, assay development and quality control
- Data mining
- Principles of compound optimisation and case histories
- Introduction to pharmacokinetics
- In silico approaches to drug design
- Intellectual property strategy
- Regulatory bodies requirements
- Data packages required for out licensing and partnering
- An introduction to preclinical and clinical development.
Course organisers
- Professor Paul Wyatt (Drug Discovery Unit, University of Dundee, UK)
- Dr Mary Donnelly (MDPharmasolutions Ltd, Hertford, UK)
Guest lecturers
A prestigious panel of guest lecturers from industry, academia and established not-for-profit organisations will be assembled for the course. Guest lecturers in previous years have included senior representatives from:
- Pfizer
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Merck, Sharp & Dohme
- AstraZeneca
- European Bioinformatics Institute
- Medical Research Council
- University of Dundee
- Astex Pharmaceuticals
- GF Associates
- Imperial College
Feedback from previous courses
“I would just like to say I am very grateful for being given the chance to attend, I learned a lot, met some very nice and interesting people, enjoyed the overall environment and hope to be able to put into practice some of what I have learned. Thank you”
”I very much enjoyed the course and found it extremely useful and informative for my own research. Thanks!”
“This course provides a bridge linking up experts and up coming scientists and should continue as it is an open door for partnership and collaboration”
How to apply
Prerequisites
Applicants will likely be:
- new postdoctoral recruits to already established facilities
- postdoctoral grade researchers in small or medium sized companies
- senior investigators considering entering the field
- recipients, and their staff, of Seeding Drug Discovery project funding
- established investigators seeking further professional development.
Cost
The course is subsidised by the Wellcome Trust for scientists based anywhere in the world. This is a residential course, without exception, and there is a fee of £600 towards board and lodging.
Bursaries
Limited bursaries are available for academic or clinical applicants from non-commercial organisations (50 per cent of fee) and are subject to open competition. Please see our
bursaries page for application information and terms and conditions.
Applications
Applicants will be required to complete an application form containing a 300-word outline of the relevance of the course to their research/clinical work. Please note that documentation supporting their application will be required from the applicant's supervisor/head of department.
To submit an application, please either email for an application form to advancedcourses@hinxton.wellcome.ac.uk or download the form [Word 116KB] and our terms and conditions [Word 28KB].
Applications can be accepted by post or email. Sponsors' supporting letters must be returned, signed, by fax or post under separate cover. Please note: Incomplete applications will be rejected.
Applications and letters of support should be sent to:
Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Hinxton
Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA
UK
F +44 (0) 1223 495130
E
advancedcourses@hinxton.wellcome.ac.uk
Deadline
Deadline for applications: 5 March 2012